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W3C Chair training Focus & Poductivity 2014102

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Arnaud Le Hors
Arnaud Le Hors

- The document provides guidance for W3C chairs on maintaining focus and productivity in their roles. It outlines challenges such as dealing with public comments and achieving consensus. - It recommends chairs establish clear timelines and milestones, keep groups on track to deliver on time, and make use of W3C tools to manage issues, action items, and documentation. - Chairs are advised to drive productive discussions, achieve consensus rather than majority votes, and resolve issues and objections while remaining neutral in their facilitation role.

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W3C Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Arnaud J Le Hors Senior Technical Staff Member, Open Web Standards, IBM lehors@us.ibm.com 23 October 2014 © 2014 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Presenter Overview ■ Senior Technical Staff Member, Open Web Standards, IBM Software Group ■ Standards Professional ■ Former W3C Team Member ■ Worked on many standards: HTML, DOM, XML as well as open source: Apache Xerces ■ Linked Data Platform WG Chair ■ Social Web WG Co-Chair ■ RDF Data Shapes WG Chair ■ IBM AC Rep. © 2014 2 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Challenges ■ Rigorous W3C Process (especially at Last Call/Candidate Recommendation) – Dealing with public comments can be very time consuming – Fairly simple changes can lead to weeks of delays ■ W3C culture – Timeline set by the charter is typically not taken seriously; we need to change this. – “Perfection” is often favored over on-time delivery – fueled by fear of being stuck with the wrong solution or no solution for years to come, which creates a vicious cycle  Very diverse community – W3C seeks to be very inclusive but the bigger the group the harder it is to get agreement – Participants often have very different backgrounds, use different terminology, and care about different use cases – Not everyone knows how to collaborate effectively ■ Reaching consensus is harder than deciding by majority vote ■ Chairs must foster a productive environment without sticks nor carrots. ■ Co-chairing requires good communication among the chairs and agreed upon ways of working ■ Level of support from the Team can vary. © 2014 3 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Process ■ Know the W3C Process: – Different types of deliverables: Rec Track and Non-Rec Track documents – Different states: FPWD, Last Call/Candidate Recommendation, PR, REC – Transition requests – Minimums for review periods, for implementations, etc. ■ Educate WG members so they understand what needs to be done. ■ Ask your Team contact for help when you're not sure. © 2014 4 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Tools ■ Know the W3C tools that are available: – Trackbot, Zakim, RRSAgent – Tracker – Wiki – Mercurial ■ Educate WG members so they can help. ■ Ask your Team contact for help when you're not sure. © 2014 5 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Keeping WG in Scope From the Role of the Group Chair http://www.w3.org/Guide/chair-roles : “The ability to keep the Working Group "in Charter", both for technical and IPR issues” ■ Use charter as your primary tool for scope and deliverables ■ Agree on a set of governing Use cases & Requirements to further define the problem to be addressed. – It is very hard to solve a problem that is poorly defined. – This can also help establish a common terminology.  Develop a wish list to capture possible future work items – this provides a relief valve. © 2014 6 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Keeping WG on Time ■ Keep track of your WG's timetable: 1. Start from the charter 2. Further refine it, determining intermediary milestones and deadlines that need to be met to deliver on time: Editing, WG review, decision to publish, publication, comment period, etc. 3. Update your timetable as things progress ■ Keep the WG informed about it – force them to face the reality, do not let them think it's ok to blow the WG's deadlines ■ Propose cuts to the spec or deliverables when deadlines become impossible to meet – Non-Rec track deliverables are low hanging fruits – Primers are nice to have but not required for success – Postpone by moving things to wishlist rather than dropping them – It is much easier for people to accept.  Be drastic about this, consider the current WG's expiration date as final. © 2014 7 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Conducting productive meetings ■ Send a detailed agenda beforehand – Highlight important proposals in your announcement – Keep track of time and move topics off line when running out of time ■ Drive the discussion – Manage the queue – Refocus the discussion when needed – Cut in when needed – you're the chair, you have the right to interrupt, use it – In case of tension prompt the quieter participants for their opinion ■ Restate as clearly as possible what the different positions and options are ■ Avoid open ended questions, drive discussions around specific proposals and issues. – Once a draft is available focus discussions on specific aspects of the spec, specific sections or paragraphs if possible – Request proposed changes  Don't let the most vocal participants overcast where the WG stands – Have frequent strawpolls to check where the WG actually stands.  Make proposals © 2014 8 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Consensus ■ Decisions are to be made by “Consensus” ■ Formal proposals should be clearly spelled out (by chair or scribe on IRC) a la: PROPOSED: Close Issue-32 by changing the type of X in section 3.2 from int to float ■ Make sure people understand the voting process and the meaning of -1!! • +1 means “Yes” • 0 means “Abstain” • -1 means “No”, as in “I object/veto.” • Variations a la “-0.5” or “+.8” are often used to express degrees of opinion, only “-1” is blocking. ■ When someone objects to a proposal: – Ask for an explanation – Investigate possible ways to address the objection – Ask for a counter proposal  In case of deadlock: – Try to come up with a proposal that might address everyone's needs – Consider talking to the various parties off line to better understand their position © 2014 9 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Consensus vs Majority vote ■ Consensus is Not a majority vote ■ Example: – Proposal A has a bunch of +1s and one -1 – Proposal B gets a bunch of 0s, maybe a few -0.5s, and a +1 (typically from the person who voted -1 on A!) – Consensus is B even though the majority prefers A!! ■ Key question to ask is: “Can you live with it?” © 2014 10 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Formal objections ■ Objective of reaching consensus must not lead to a WG being held hostage ■ Don't be afraid of Formal Objections: 1. Document efforts made to accommodate objection 2. Notify objector of the possibility of filing a formal objection 3. And Move on! ■ In practice very few people file formal objections. ■ Formal objections are not a showstopper if you can demonstrate that reasonable attempts have been made to accommodate. © 2014 11 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Chair's neutrality From the Role of the Group Chair http://www.w3.org/Guide/chair-roles : “The ability (both actual and perceived by the Working Group -- including potential competitors) to forge consensus fairly and without bias from your affiliation/employer and, sometimes, even your own technical positions;” ■ Chairs should abstain from casting votes – have someone else from your organization representing your organization if necessary. ■ It may be reasonable for Chairs to take position in case of a tie. © 2014 12 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Issues and Resolutions ■ Use Tracker to record issues and keep track of them ■ Anyone can “Raise” an issue but a WG decision is needed to “Open” an issue – Ensure the issue is new and in scope – Encourage people to propose a solution when they raise an issue ■ When a proposal has been made the issue may be marked as “Pending Review”. ■ Review the list of open issues regularly (e.g., on weekly calls) ■ Make sure all resolutions are clearly recorded (use “Resolved: xxx” in IRC) ■ When closing an issue add a link to the resolution from Tracker to the minutes ■ Do NOT reopen unless new information is being brought in. ■ Some WGs prefer using Github which has its advantages but the process should be similar. – Consider using Github issues for minor/editorial issues and Tracker for issues that are to be resolved by WG. © 2014 13 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Enabling remote and asynchronous participation ■ Asynchronous participation and asynchronous decision making takes more time. ■ Most practical way seems to be: 1.Make decisions during meeting/call 2. Publish minutes highlighting resolutions 3. Approve minutes on the next call – effectively confirming the resolutions ■ This allows those who couldn't attend the meeting to object before resolutions are confirmed. © 2014 14 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Action Items ■ Use Tracker to record Action items and keep track of them ■ Make sure the person accepts the action item – It is inappropriate and counterproductive to give actions to people without their consent ■ On completion, action owners can mark their actions as “Pending Review” ■ Review action items regularly (e.g., on weekly calls) – Close completed actions – Identify and address possible blocking issues © 2014 15 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Developing documents ■ Identify a couple of editors (2 seems optimal) – Ensure they are committed and have the time this requires ■ Ensure WG members are paying attention – For milestones (e.g., FPWD) identify a couple of people who take action items to review ■ When applicable, think about developing a test suite early on – Issue resolutions are great opportunities to add tests – Failing to develop the test suite will lead to delayed CR  Be pro-active, inquires who's going to implement what – If something seems to be lacking support mark it as “At RISK” © 2014 16 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Publishing documents ■ Know the W3C publication process and schedule – Documents must be PubRules compliant – don't forget the link checker – Publications only occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays – Beware of blackout periods (e.g., TPAC) – Transition requests can take time, especially when call with W3M is necessary ■ Help new editors with the publication process – failure to fully understand the rules and process invariably leads to delay in publication. ■ Secure participation from your Team contact – They have to participate in the publication process (copy doc to TR space) – They can help smooth things out and avoid unnecessarily delays. © 2014 17 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Dealing with comments  Probe the public often – The earlier you deal with feedback the better off you are. – If you know of any stakeholders (groups or individuals) prompt them directly.  Keep track of Last Call “Disposition of comments” using Last Call Tracker or some other tool – Ensure someone (e.g., the editors) is committed to: 1. Sorting out comments, 2. Bringing to the WG what needs to be discussed, 3. Responding to the public and chase commenters for their acknowledgement, 4. Documenting all of the above! – When answering comments request response by a specific date. – Documented due diligence is key to successful transition requests. © 2014 18 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Parting thoughts  There are many things you do not control that can lead to delays: – Fluctuating levels of participation or attention, late issues, public comments, etc.  You can mitigate some of these by being proactive: – Watch out for warnings: people no longer showing up on calls, not responding, etc. – When needed reach out to people directly and seek help from your Team contact.  At the same time there are many things you do have control over: – Keeping the WG focused, running meetings effectively, avoiding repeats, setting deadlines, etc.  And these can have a big impact so, don't miss out on those! © 2014 19 IBM Corporation
Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Reading material  Joseph Reagle's Thoughts from the P3P Harmonization WG http://www.w3.org/Guide/reagles-experiences.html  Predicting milestones http://www.w3.org/Guide/predicting-milestones.html  Good Practice for Managing Reviews and Review Comments http://www.w3.org/2006/07/comments.html © 2014 20 IBM Corporation

More Related Content

W3C Chair training Focus & Poductivity 2014102

  • 1. W3C Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Arnaud J Le Hors Senior Technical Staff Member, Open Web Standards, IBM lehors@us.ibm.com 23 October 2014 © 2014 IBM Corporation
  • 2. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Presenter Overview ■ Senior Technical Staff Member, Open Web Standards, IBM Software Group ■ Standards Professional ■ Former W3C Team Member ■ Worked on many standards: HTML, DOM, XML as well as open source: Apache Xerces ■ Linked Data Platform WG Chair ■ Social Web WG Co-Chair ■ RDF Data Shapes WG Chair ■ IBM AC Rep. © 2014 2 IBM Corporation
  • 3. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Challenges ■ Rigorous W3C Process (especially at Last Call/Candidate Recommendation) – Dealing with public comments can be very time consuming – Fairly simple changes can lead to weeks of delays ■ W3C culture – Timeline set by the charter is typically not taken seriously; we need to change this. – “Perfection” is often favored over on-time delivery – fueled by fear of being stuck with the wrong solution or no solution for years to come, which creates a vicious cycle  Very diverse community – W3C seeks to be very inclusive but the bigger the group the harder it is to get agreement – Participants often have very different backgrounds, use different terminology, and care about different use cases – Not everyone knows how to collaborate effectively ■ Reaching consensus is harder than deciding by majority vote ■ Chairs must foster a productive environment without sticks nor carrots. ■ Co-chairing requires good communication among the chairs and agreed upon ways of working ■ Level of support from the Team can vary. © 2014 3 IBM Corporation
  • 4. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Process ■ Know the W3C Process: – Different types of deliverables: Rec Track and Non-Rec Track documents – Different states: FPWD, Last Call/Candidate Recommendation, PR, REC – Transition requests – Minimums for review periods, for implementations, etc. ■ Educate WG members so they understand what needs to be done. ■ Ask your Team contact for help when you're not sure. © 2014 4 IBM Corporation
  • 5. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Tools ■ Know the W3C tools that are available: – Trackbot, Zakim, RRSAgent – Tracker – Wiki – Mercurial ■ Educate WG members so they can help. ■ Ask your Team contact for help when you're not sure. © 2014 5 IBM Corporation
  • 6. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Keeping WG in Scope From the Role of the Group Chair http://www.w3.org/Guide/chair-roles : “The ability to keep the Working Group "in Charter", both for technical and IPR issues” ■ Use charter as your primary tool for scope and deliverables ■ Agree on a set of governing Use cases & Requirements to further define the problem to be addressed. – It is very hard to solve a problem that is poorly defined. – This can also help establish a common terminology.  Develop a wish list to capture possible future work items – this provides a relief valve. © 2014 6 IBM Corporation
  • 7. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Keeping WG on Time ■ Keep track of your WG's timetable: 1. Start from the charter 2. Further refine it, determining intermediary milestones and deadlines that need to be met to deliver on time: Editing, WG review, decision to publish, publication, comment period, etc. 3. Update your timetable as things progress ■ Keep the WG informed about it – force them to face the reality, do not let them think it's ok to blow the WG's deadlines ■ Propose cuts to the spec or deliverables when deadlines become impossible to meet – Non-Rec track deliverables are low hanging fruits – Primers are nice to have but not required for success – Postpone by moving things to wishlist rather than dropping them – It is much easier for people to accept.  Be drastic about this, consider the current WG's expiration date as final. © 2014 7 IBM Corporation
  • 8. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Conducting productive meetings ■ Send a detailed agenda beforehand – Highlight important proposals in your announcement – Keep track of time and move topics off line when running out of time ■ Drive the discussion – Manage the queue – Refocus the discussion when needed – Cut in when needed – you're the chair, you have the right to interrupt, use it – In case of tension prompt the quieter participants for their opinion ■ Restate as clearly as possible what the different positions and options are ■ Avoid open ended questions, drive discussions around specific proposals and issues. – Once a draft is available focus discussions on specific aspects of the spec, specific sections or paragraphs if possible – Request proposed changes  Don't let the most vocal participants overcast where the WG stands – Have frequent strawpolls to check where the WG actually stands.  Make proposals © 2014 8 IBM Corporation
  • 9. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Consensus ■ Decisions are to be made by “Consensus” ■ Formal proposals should be clearly spelled out (by chair or scribe on IRC) a la: PROPOSED: Close Issue-32 by changing the type of X in section 3.2 from int to float ■ Make sure people understand the voting process and the meaning of -1!! • +1 means “Yes” • 0 means “Abstain” • -1 means “No”, as in “I object/veto.” • Variations a la “-0.5” or “+.8” are often used to express degrees of opinion, only “-1” is blocking. ■ When someone objects to a proposal: – Ask for an explanation – Investigate possible ways to address the objection – Ask for a counter proposal  In case of deadlock: – Try to come up with a proposal that might address everyone's needs – Consider talking to the various parties off line to better understand their position © 2014 9 IBM Corporation
  • 10. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Consensus vs Majority vote ■ Consensus is Not a majority vote ■ Example: – Proposal A has a bunch of +1s and one -1 – Proposal B gets a bunch of 0s, maybe a few -0.5s, and a +1 (typically from the person who voted -1 on A!) – Consensus is B even though the majority prefers A!! ■ Key question to ask is: “Can you live with it?” © 2014 10 IBM Corporation
  • 11. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Formal objections ■ Objective of reaching consensus must not lead to a WG being held hostage ■ Don't be afraid of Formal Objections: 1. Document efforts made to accommodate objection 2. Notify objector of the possibility of filing a formal objection 3. And Move on! ■ In practice very few people file formal objections. ■ Formal objections are not a showstopper if you can demonstrate that reasonable attempts have been made to accommodate. © 2014 11 IBM Corporation
  • 12. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Chair's neutrality From the Role of the Group Chair http://www.w3.org/Guide/chair-roles : “The ability (both actual and perceived by the Working Group -- including potential competitors) to forge consensus fairly and without bias from your affiliation/employer and, sometimes, even your own technical positions;” ■ Chairs should abstain from casting votes – have someone else from your organization representing your organization if necessary. ■ It may be reasonable for Chairs to take position in case of a tie. © 2014 12 IBM Corporation
  • 13. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Issues and Resolutions ■ Use Tracker to record issues and keep track of them ■ Anyone can “Raise” an issue but a WG decision is needed to “Open” an issue – Ensure the issue is new and in scope – Encourage people to propose a solution when they raise an issue ■ When a proposal has been made the issue may be marked as “Pending Review”. ■ Review the list of open issues regularly (e.g., on weekly calls) ■ Make sure all resolutions are clearly recorded (use “Resolved: xxx” in IRC) ■ When closing an issue add a link to the resolution from Tracker to the minutes ■ Do NOT reopen unless new information is being brought in. ■ Some WGs prefer using Github which has its advantages but the process should be similar. – Consider using Github issues for minor/editorial issues and Tracker for issues that are to be resolved by WG. © 2014 13 IBM Corporation
  • 14. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Enabling remote and asynchronous participation ■ Asynchronous participation and asynchronous decision making takes more time. ■ Most practical way seems to be: 1.Make decisions during meeting/call 2. Publish minutes highlighting resolutions 3. Approve minutes on the next call – effectively confirming the resolutions ■ This allows those who couldn't attend the meeting to object before resolutions are confirmed. © 2014 14 IBM Corporation
  • 15. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Action Items ■ Use Tracker to record Action items and keep track of them ■ Make sure the person accepts the action item – It is inappropriate and counterproductive to give actions to people without their consent ■ On completion, action owners can mark their actions as “Pending Review” ■ Review action items regularly (e.g., on weekly calls) – Close completed actions – Identify and address possible blocking issues © 2014 15 IBM Corporation
  • 16. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Developing documents ■ Identify a couple of editors (2 seems optimal) – Ensure they are committed and have the time this requires ■ Ensure WG members are paying attention – For milestones (e.g., FPWD) identify a couple of people who take action items to review ■ When applicable, think about developing a test suite early on – Issue resolutions are great opportunities to add tests – Failing to develop the test suite will lead to delayed CR  Be pro-active, inquires who's going to implement what – If something seems to be lacking support mark it as “At RISK” © 2014 16 IBM Corporation
  • 17. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Publishing documents ■ Know the W3C publication process and schedule – Documents must be PubRules compliant – don't forget the link checker – Publications only occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays – Beware of blackout periods (e.g., TPAC) – Transition requests can take time, especially when call with W3M is necessary ■ Help new editors with the publication process – failure to fully understand the rules and process invariably leads to delay in publication. ■ Secure participation from your Team contact – They have to participate in the publication process (copy doc to TR space) – They can help smooth things out and avoid unnecessarily delays. © 2014 17 IBM Corporation
  • 18. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Dealing with comments  Probe the public often – The earlier you deal with feedback the better off you are. – If you know of any stakeholders (groups or individuals) prompt them directly.  Keep track of Last Call “Disposition of comments” using Last Call Tracker or some other tool – Ensure someone (e.g., the editors) is committed to: 1. Sorting out comments, 2. Bringing to the WG what needs to be discussed, 3. Responding to the public and chase commenters for their acknowledgement, 4. Documenting all of the above! – When answering comments request response by a specific date. – Documented due diligence is key to successful transition requests. © 2014 18 IBM Corporation
  • 19. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Parting thoughts  There are many things you do not control that can lead to delays: – Fluctuating levels of participation or attention, late issues, public comments, etc.  You can mitigate some of these by being proactive: – Watch out for warnings: people no longer showing up on calls, not responding, etc. – When needed reach out to people directly and seek help from your Team contact.  At the same time there are many things you do have control over: – Keeping the WG focused, running meetings effectively, avoiding repeats, setting deadlines, etc.  And these can have a big impact so, don't miss out on those! © 2014 19 IBM Corporation
  • 20. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity Reading material  Joseph Reagle's Thoughts from the P3P Harmonization WG http://www.w3.org/Guide/reagles-experiences.html  Predicting milestones http://www.w3.org/Guide/predicting-milestones.html  Good Practice for Managing Reviews and Review Comments http://www.w3.org/2006/07/comments.html © 2014 20 IBM Corporation